Danville Express

Police seek suspects after gas station robbery

Danville police are investigating a weekend armed robbery at the Danville Olde Town Arco service station on San Ramon Valley Boulevard at Boone Court across from the Livery.

Sgt. Dan Hoffman said around 9:28 p.m. Saturday night two males entered the gas station. One of the men displayed a compact chrome semiautomatic handgun and demanded money. They took an undisclosed amount of cash from the cash register and then left the business. The pair fled east behind the gas station.

Police officials set up a perimeter and used a canine to track the fleeing men, but they eluded capture. The suspects are described as black men, one medium height and heavy build, between 20-30 years old, and the other tall and slender in his late teens or early 20s.

The investigation is continuing. Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Danville Police Department at 314-3700.

Daylight car theft lands man in jail

A 39-year-old Hayward man is being held at the Martinez Detention Center after he brazenly made off with a Danville man's auto Sunday afternoon.

Sgt. Dan Hoffman said police received a call from a resident in the 2000 block of Fostoria Circle around 1:30 p.m. Sunday reporting his car as stolen. The victim told police he heard his car starting up and when he looked out the window he saw a white male driving off with his Ford f550 pickup truck.

Police began searching for the stolen pickup and a Contra Costa Sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle driving northbound on I-680. The deputy performed a high risk traffic stop, pulling the pickup over. Weapon out, the deputy ordered the driver, identified as Kenneth Hafner, out of the vehicle. He was handcuffed at the scene and taken into custody. There were no other occupants of the pickup.

Hafner is charged with possession of stolen property, driving a stolen vehicle and violation of parole. Hafner also had several outstanding warrants for his arrest on various charges. He remains in custody at the Martinez facility.